Ippodo NYC

Chip wrote:So, today at the TeaTable I brewed up Ippodo's Kumpu Sencha ... brewed the Ippodo way (lots of leaf). Delicious as it looks.

That looks incredible! The color of the brew is stunning The teaware is a perfect choice to display that aspect of the tea!I've yet to purchase from Ippodo, but this news has me excited to browse the Ippodo archives!

Chip wrote:So, today at the TeaTable I brewed up Ippodo's Kumpu Sencha ... brewed the Ippodo way (lots of leaf). Delicious as it looks.

On the Ippodo website are "one-pot" bags of tea which contain 10 grams. They don't specify the pot size, so I'm assuming I can stretch a bag to 2 sessions in a small kyusu. i'm hoping those one-pot bags are for sale in NYC when the store opens so I can sample a variety of their teas. They're just a bus ride away from me, making near-instant gratification a reality.

I think their Sencha will be suited to your tastes and sensitivities!

For Sencha, their site mentions 210 ml (7 ounces) water for the 10 grams. So, I often do 4 or 5 ounces steeps, and I did a proportionate amount of leaf for the Kumpu. This worked fine. I would try to at least stick to the ratio of leaf to water. This ratio is higher than the benchmark 1:1 (grams : ounces) I usually first try a new sencha. Works out to 1.4:1. Still, the brew was smooth. Try this with some sencha and your hair may fall out.

Then elsewhere on their site, they mention you can also brew all 10 grams in a smaller steep of 120 ml ... I have not tried this. This is a much higher ratio of 2.5:1. I imagine this would give you a pretty intense cuppa. O_O Certainly worth trying.

They also mention a slightly higher brew temp of 80* C (176* F) which is a bit higher than I usually go, 170* ish or even lower. But the Kumpu would take this temp without a problem, I think ... but it was also fine at 170*.

Chip wrote:So, today at the TeaTable I brewed up Ippodo's Kumpu Sencha ... brewed the Ippodo way (lots of leaf). Delicious as it looks.

That looks incredible! The color of the brew is stunning The teaware is a perfect choice to display that aspect of the tea!I've yet to purchase from Ippodo, but this news has me excited to browse the Ippodo archives!

My standard for all Ippodo sencha, and most Ujicha in general, is 5g/~70ml - start at165F @ 1min, 10s, 1min. I guess this is fairly close to their protocol. Good full bodied brew, with a very lengthy aftertaste using this method.

bambooforest wrote:I'm personally glad they are still shipping from Japan. If they were to set up a facility in the U.S. and their tea was sea shipped, it wouldn't be as fresh.

You are absolutely right, it's not like there aren't many many companies shipping massive amounts of far more perishable items than tea in more massive quantities than I am sure an Ippodo in the USA needs, in which those items are also kept perfectly fresh the whole time. Not to mention the tea is all coming from the same batches, so I am sure buying a batch and having it shipped EMS in a non Climate controlled fashion from Japan to your door step after it sat in Japan for all that time, is far worse than before you even order it having some of that batch moved in a controlled fashion to the US where it could then more quickly make it to the door of most people in North America, even not requiring expedited shipping.

JRS22 wrote:On the Ippodo website are "one-pot" bags of tea which contain 10 grams. They don't specify the pot size, so I'm assuming I can stretch a bag to 2 sessions in a small kyusu. i'm hoping those one-pot bags are for sale in NYC when the store opens so I can sample a variety of their teas. They're just a bus ride away from me, making near-instant gratification a reality.

I think their Sencha will be suited to your tastes and sensitivities!

For Sencha, their site mentions 210 ml (7 ounces) water for the 10 grams. So, I often do 4 or 5 ounces steeps, and I did a proportionate amount of leaf for the Kumpu. This worked fine. I would try to at least stick to the ratio of leaf to water. This ratio is higher than the benchmark 1:1 (grams : ounces) I usually first try a new sencha. Works out to 1.4:1. Still, the brew was smooth. Try this with some sencha and your hair may fall out.

My favorite new kyusu holds 75 ml, so I might even get 3 sessions out of one bag. I probably won't make it there on opening day, but I'm planning my route - first, Ippodo for tea and Japanese snacks, second, Kalyustan's for fresh indian spices. then maybe a dosa while I'm on Curry Hill.

I'm not absolutely right. I'm just expressing my very personal opinion. I ordered from Ippodo a while back and if you buy enough... my memory seems to indicate that the shipping isn't overwhelming. It's also worth noting you're getting Japanese prices with Ippodo's teas, without an additional markup.

I'm open minded, though. Maybe you, Adam, can enlighten me and others on how sea shipped sencha isn't negatively impacted. I'm basing my opinion on what I've heard from people in the industry which of course could be biased. My understanding is that it takes around 6 weeks for the tea to make the journey by sea and it's exposed to very high temperatures throughout which is something the tea wouldn't be exposed to on a quick flight from Japan.

I buy plenty of tea that is sea shipped and I especially have no problem with it when the price is good. But considering Japanese green tea is especially sensitive to freshness, I do appreciate when there is an air shipped option which to me is one of the great benefits of ordering tea directly from Japan.

If you order fresh tea from Japan, it's quite possible to have it pulled from cold storage and in the customer's hands within 10 days or even less. Unless it's mishandled in some way, this is not going to diminish the quality of the tea in the least. Comparatively speaking, it should be possible to transport green tea in bulk via refrigerated container from Japan and re-package in the USA, but that will take 6 weeks minimum. Provided it was refrigerated the whole way, it would still be fresh and could then be re-packaged and shipped to customers directly. But I don't see how the price will not be affected. This is most likely why they will continue to operate via the postal system - it's simply more cost effective and actually, the tea is fresher.

Agree with Kevin, but ultimately, the NYC tea room isn't a warehouse and shipping facility. It is a cozy place for tea lovers to meet, take a break, and soak in the green. I hope you can all visit someday!